Ruthos
Ruthos was a Sapient model War Mongrel built by Makuta Antharahk and Makuta Drakah. He was the War General of the twos' mechanized army during the War of Pestilence before he was ejected from it for disobeying orders and was supposedly killed on a mission. He then found his way onto Powai Nui and allied with the Wraith Syndicate, after which he escaped the island. History Early History Ruthos was created through a collaboration between the Makuta scientists Antharahk and Drakah using a Kraata of Plant Control. After various tests, he proved himself to be worthy of the title of "War General" of a growing army and was given the title. Ruthos trained and learned, refining his skills and abilities, while the rest of the large army, composed of machines such as him, was created. Leskya Nui War When the army was ready for deployment, Ruthos was tasked with leading a first attack on the southern coast of the unsuspecting Matoran-populated island of Leskya Nui. The attack was successful, and a small portion of the coast was occupied. However, the island's Toa team, led by Vandir, retaliated immediately by setting up heavy defenses around the island. After the next attack was led by Ruthos a full-out war had begun. Ruthos would continue to lead several attacks on the island, which resulted in a series of wins and losses. When a Toa of Iron appeared, Ruthos alerted Antharahk and warned him about their next attack. Antharahk ordered him to send one airship containing an experimental weapon built by Drakah called an Incendiary onto the capital of Leskya Nui. Additionally, since Ruthos broke one of Antharahk's strict rules and was sentenced to "recycling", he urged the War General to go on the airship for a more honorable death. Ruthos did as such, and Antharahk and the rest of his army assumed him to be dead. The blast created by the Incendiary ended up destroying the entire island of Leskya Nui, ending the war. He managed to survive the weapon's detonation and left the destroyed island. His Kraata was damaged and mutated, causing him to decay plantlife at will rather than control it. As he was heavily damaged, he was forced to reconstruct himself using parts from his fallen comrades. This resulted in him regarding himself as repulsive in appearance, and he attempted to find ways of counteracting it, mostly by reworking his dull grey color scheme. As he was unable to paint himself, he enlisted the help of others, most of whom were not particularly trustworthy. The multiple coats of paint he received reacted with the elements, turning his armor dark red and brown. Likewise, those who were willing to fix his body itself were equally untrustworthy. He eventually gave up on self-renovation, choosing to cover himself in a large black cloak. Joining the Wraith Syndicate Soon, he found himself on the nearby island of Powai Nui, and after several years of lurking, he was found by Dark Hunter "Alchemist" and his associate Phi. Ruthos reluctantly decided to try and join them for the sake of his own survival, and they accepted, with "Alchemist" reasoning that his Blight ability would prove useful on an island covered in megafauna in many places. Ruthos assisted the two in retrieving the Staff of Vortices from the tunnels of the Kakkan Containment Organization. He was present when Tetradon and Pretadix were transported from an unknown location to Le-Powai using the staff. Although at first, the two were skeptical of Ruthos, Tetradon soon found a use for him after learning of his special ability. He sent him to the village in Le-Powai, where Navahko, Lewok, and Salvina came in response to sightings of him. Upon seeing Ruthos, Navahko gave chase to him, pursuing him through the thick forest before Ruthos used his powers to cause him to fall and hurt his foot. Although he was present at the Syndicate's next attack at Obodosara, Tetradon ultimately never found a use for him again in any future activities. It was at this time that the unsteady relationship between the two began to plummet downward. This culminated to a point where, after Ruthos acted particularly unruly and apathetic toward him, Tetradon attacked him until he went into emergency shutdown. The most notable injury from this event was the destruction of his voicebox his artificial voicebox which rendered him unable to speak. Escape When his backup systems determined that his surroundings were safe, Ruthos rebooted and began roaming Le-Powai. He came into contact with the Toa Powai, and quickly decided that for his own sake it would better to cut ties with the Wraith Syndicate and assist the Toa for the time being. Thanks to Lewok's Vehere, Ruthos was able to convince them that he didn't want any more conflict with them. In exchange for the right to escape the island without having to pay for his crimes, he promised the Toa that he would assist them in confronting the remaining members of the Wraith Syndicate and either convincing them to leave the island or defeating them in combat if necessary. The Toa learned from him what Kraata powers Pretadix still had to help them prepare to fight the Makuta. However, as soon as they found the Makuta and began battling him, Ruthos deserted them and escaped the island as quickly as he could, breaking his promise. His whereabouts after that point are unknown, but he likely tried to escape the influence of the Brotherhood. Since then, accounts of a being with dark red and brown armor hiding under a cloak creeping through wildernesses cropped up on other islands, although it's possible that at least some accounts were fabricated. Description Appearance Powers and Equipment As his artificial intelligence uses a Kraata of Plant Control in order to give him sapience, he adopted its powers as well. Previously, his powers were much likely those of a Rahkshi of Plant Control, allowing him to create, destroy and manipulate plants. After surviving the detonation of the first Incendiary, however, the Kraata was mutated, leaving him with only the power to destroy plants. This ability, which Ruthos called "Blight" after a plant's symptomatic response to pathogens, was rendered more acute and powerful than before. The ability seemed to be constantly on at a low level, causing the plants around him to wither. Ruthos was about as strong, agile, and enduring as the average Toa, save for a few specific areas. A series of gyroscopes inside his body gave him exceptionally good balance, allowing him to run and jump across thin platforms. He was also capable of adjusting his optics to vastly varying brightness levels, allowing to see relatively well in complete darkness or looking directly at the sun. Ruthos's right arm bore a sharp red blade and a small muzzle belonging to a firearm which he could fire automatically. Personality and Traits For his entire life, although in varying degrees, Ruthos was always skeptical of his creator and leader Antharahk. Any chance he could, he would find ways to break the tight rules piled on top of him, risking death just to prove to himself that he was more than a mindless machine. As one of the few of his kind who were given sapience, he saw himself as superior to those who were not given it. After surviving the destruction of Leskya Nui, Ruthos's disdain towards Antharahk turned into burning malice. Freed from the restrictions of his thoughts, words, and actions, he took numerous opportunities to speak ill of him, constantly putting him at odds with Phi. This mentality bled into his relationships with other authority figures, namely Tetradon. In his post-War state, Ruthos found himself to be hideous and hid in cloaks to reflect this. He grew furious with anyone who tried to remove them or see through them. Appearances * Dirge - First appearance * Against the Storm - Volumes ''II'', ''III'', ''V'', & ''VI'' Quotes Trivia * Ruthos and the other War Mongrels were inspired by the Brotherhood of Makuta soldiers that appeared in KylerNuva's Reign of Terror series. * Ruthos's inclusion in Against the Storm was decided rather late in the story's conception. Cap originally would have had another War Mongrel with a similar backstory and personality ally with the Wraith Syndicate. * The brown in his color scheme was added due to a shortage of pieces, as he was imagined as being entirely dark red and black. After finding this color scheme to be unpleasant, Cap had the idea of having Ruthos shun his appearance and hide in a cloak. This color scheme also inspired his "Blight" ability, as it reminded Cap of the colors of a wilting red rose. * Ruthos was planned to be more integral to the final volume of Against the Storm, as he would have kept his word to the Toa Powai and assisted them in fighting Hysterix, only to die at his hands. When Cap realized that Dissolution, the chapter in which this happened, was far past 5000 words in length, he removed this scene to shorten it and decided that it would be more in-character for Ruthos to break his promise. Category:Brotherhood of Makuta Category:Wraith Syndicate